Tuesday, February 21, 2017

Sight & Sound Challenge: Barry Lyndon (1975)

Film: Barry Lyndon (189/250)

First Time/Rewatch: Rewatch

Ohhh I love this movie. This story of the rise and fall of Redmond Barry (Ryan O'Neal) is iconic and epic, and yet has a precision that I don't see in other films like this. Maybe it's the symmetry of the story, or the use of music (Handel's "Sarabande" and Schubert's "Piano Trio in E-Flat, Opus 100, 2nd movement" are featured prominently and both have very measured rhythms, like the ticking of a clock), but this meticulously crafted film stands alone as one of a kind. Or rather, one of a specific kind: the work of master filmmaker Stanley Kubrick. It's got his fingerprints all over it. From the tracking shots to the beautiful light to the symmetry of the shots and the story, it's undoubtedly his. Every frame looks like a painting. The costumes are beautiful. The plot is engrossing. There's just so much to get out of this film, and I couldn't be happier to have an excuse to revisit it.